Don’t forget the trailing spouse

Edi Smockum looks at some innovative solutions to the problems of working abroad

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ompanies ignore the problem of the “trailing spouse” - those selfless individuals who follow their partners around the globe - at their peril. That was the warning, at a recent conference held in Paris, from Markus Andres, human resources manager for Zurich Insurance.

With the pool of potential employees who are willing to accept overseas postings shrink­ing, “the remaining candidates may not represent the best possi­ble selection,” he pointed out. A recent survey underlined the prob­lem: 74 per cent of human resources managers said their chief global challenge was finding candidates. The most frequent rea­son for employees turning down expatriate appointments was con­cern about their spouse's career. If your company's high-flier is mar­ried to another high-flier with a different company, can you entice them to set off to foreign parts?

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ome companies have found innovative solutions. Motorola, which has 2,000 expatriate employ­ees worldwide, offers trailing spouses up to US$7,500 a year for education. This is broadly interpreted by the company - a spouse can, for example, use the money to invest in starting up a business. Shell International Petroleum, the Anglo-Dutch oil company which has 20 per cent of its employees serving in overseas appointments, reimburses 80 per cent of the costs of vocational training, further education or re-accreditation up to US$4,200 per assignment.

But, as Shell found, many poten­tial expatriates are hungrier for information and advice than they are for funding. Its spouse employment centre has helped more than 1,000 couples prepare for place­ments overseas. The centre recom­mends schools, medical facilities and housing advice and provides up-to-date information on employ­ment, study, self-employment and voluntary work. This support, fully funded by Shell, has been found to be very cost efficient.

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ailed postings are a great risk in expatriate placements, and one that few companies take precau­tions against. Not only are the costs of returning a recently moved employee and family high, it can damage relations with local clients. Family breakdown or mal­adjustment is the most cited rea­son for an employee to have to be repatriated.

Schlumberger, the French-US oil services company, extended its worldwide company intranet to include trailing spouses with home computers. This not only gave the accompanying partner access to Schlumberger's intranet, but also allowed them on to the world wide web.

But the main obstacle for most trailing spouses is the difficulty in getting a work permit. Many mul­tilateral organisations, such as the London-based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), have been able to negoti­ate work permits for trailing spouses during the course of selecting sites for their offices.

Kathleen van der Wilk-Carlton of Shell thinks companies should begin to flex their muscles: “If gov­ernments can get agreements for work permits for diplomatic staff, it is time for companies to lobby governments for the same rights.”

From the Financial Times

Reading tasks

A Understanding main points

1. Which of these statements gives the best summary of the text?

1. Fewer young managers want to work abroad than in the past.

2. Companies should prepare and support families in overseas postings.

3. Most spouses of expatriates want to work when they are abroad,

   2. According to the text, is an overseas posting becoming more or less popular for ambitious managers? Why?

   3. Which company seems to be the most generous in its financial support for expatriate couples?

   4. What is the main reason mentioned in the article for the failure of an overseas posting?

   5. What are the consequences of failed postings?

B Understanding details

Mark these statements T (true) or F (false) according to the information in the text Find the part of the text that gives the correct information.

1. Companies send only the best candidates on overseas postings, F

2. Finding the right people for expatriate postings is difficult.

3. High-fliers are the people who most want to work overseas.

4. Shell prefers to give expatriates advice and information rather than money.

5. Most accompanying partners want to be able to work in the foreign country.

6. EBRD organises jobs for the spouses of its expatriates.

C Understanding meanings

1. Choose the best explanation for the sentence “Companies ignore the problem of the "trailing spouse" at their peril” (line 2)?

a. Some companies have never thought about this problem.

b. It is very important for companies to try to deal with this problem.

c. It is dangerous to send families to some parts of the world.

2. What is the best explanation for the phrase “can you entice them [high-fliers] to set off for foreign parts?” (line 11)?

1. Can you oblige them to go overseas without their spouse?

2. Can you tell them to go overseas alone?

3. Can you persuade them to go overseas with their spouse?

3. The way in which Motorola's offer of US$7,500 a year for education can be spent is “broadly interpreted by the company” (line 15). What does this mean exactly?

1. The money must be spent on training to be an interpreter.

2. Education need not only mean formal study.

3. Motorola must give its permission before the money is spent.